KEEPHLA KEE: Drawings of Mystery

by Eleonora Moretti
5 apr 2016
Tempo di lettura: 3 min

Keephla Kee is a rising Italian artist who melts melancholy and elegance by drawing female figures in a natural and at the same time sensual pose. She gets inspiration from pictures of friends who work in the sphere of fashion and nude art. These artworks are firstly made with a pen, tracing the bolder lines like the hair, and then the shadows are reproduced with a pencil in order to give depth to the entire subject. The women painted by Keephla appear as an harmonic representation of natural beauty: messy hair, naked bodies and mesmerizing eyes.

Some of her works call to mind Milo Manara’s women for the seductive position in which we see them, but sensuality here is more subtle, Keephla shows naked but elegant bodies, her women are never excessive.

How did your passion for drawing and sketching came to be? How did you cultivate it?

I don’t know how it was born, but I know it has always been inside me. I used to copy fashion magazines’ pictures or photos with a pencil. Even when I wasn't drawing, I had fun tracing the basic lines of pictures from newspapers with a pen, trying to turn it into a comic-like effect. My way of drawing is basically the same I’ve always been using; it is a combination of two main steps, one is more classical and the other not so much: after tracing the main lines -those which give dynamics to the whole work- I end filling empty spaces with pencil.

What’s your main inspiration? Do you have an art movement of reference?

I don’t have enough skills on this topic, so I can't say I have models I follow, really. Suffice to say that there is way of drawing I understand and find accustomed to (that of Klimt, Schiele, Toulouse Lautrec and Manara as those of the majority of comic makers, who are extraordinarily talented). Being a self-made artist, my works are inevitably full of errors, this way though I find myself finding more and more solutions, especially when it comes to deal with perspective, proportions and dynamics.

Your subjects are always female models, what’s behind this choice?

It’s not an aware decision, it’s something which dictates itself. Female figures, even the ones with sharp body features, have such a grace, a delicacy, a softness to them, that I don't quite seem to catch with men models.

How do you feel about the fact that more and more girls are asking you to draw them?

On one hand it surprises me and I am glad to hear that, on the other hand it causes me problems: as I only draw in my spare moments and only draw people I know, I sadly can’t accept those requests.

Could you tell us how you came up with your namesake?

It’s a nickname I’ve always had, since my childhood, in a way... I don’t know where it comes from or what its meaning is. I’ve only tried to develop it graphically when it had come to write it down (trying to choose the most original solution, after finding out that I already had at least other three namesakes in the web).

How would you present yourself to the public? Tell us more about your story…

In the beginning this was meant to be a private project, an hobby more than a passion. I continued because of people curiosity and a girl I drew in particular that pushed me exploring more of this art. I am still practicing this only in its virtual form, never really feeling at ease with it. I use this space more as a stocking area than a showcase. Of course I am glad to see that what I do is appreciated, firstly by photographers and models who permitted me to draw their pictures and accept the publication – I am totally grateful to them- if I can do what I do it’s only thanks to them, and to people who visit my galleries.

Do you have any hopes and/or projects for the future?

As a matter of fact, I have none. I'll keep it up as long as things stay as they are, as long as I will be allowed to draw and share my hobby at peace as it is usual with hobbies, taking my time and doing it in my own way.